OLYMPIA -- The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Champion
Pacific Timberlands, Inc. today signed a six-year agreement that calls for the company
to protect and improve fish and wildlife resources at its Kapowsin Tree Farm in eastern
Pierce County.
Under terms of the agreement, the company will conduct population monitoring
studies and other research for a number of species, including deer, elk, black bears,
cougars and goshawks.
The company also will implement habitat enhancement projects at the 125,000-
acre tree farm, including forage seeding to provide food for elk on the animals' winter
range.
In return, the state Fish and Wildlife Commission will allow Champion to raffle a
specified number of bull elk and buck deer permits to hunters, and recommend hunting
season dates and restrictions. Funds raised from the raffles would be used by the
company to recoup a portion of the costs involved in the conservation work.
"This agreement not only provides benefits for our state's diverse fish and
wildlife resources, but ensures the public will continue to have recreational access to
this area," said Bern Shanks, director of the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Said Jack Ward, timber and forestry operations manager for Champion:
"Agreements such as this one provide a great incentive for private landowners to
enhance fish and wildlife habitat. Champion is pleased to be part of this wildlife
conservation effort."
The agreement with Champion is one of three similar agreements that the
Department of Fish and Wildlife has signed with private landowners as part of the
agency's Private Lands Wildlife Management Area Program.
The program's chief goal is to promote a wide variety of fish and wildlife
conservation practices on private lands and, at the same time, ensure public
recreational access to those lands.
In 1992 Champion, as part of a pilot program, signed an agreement with the
department to develop ways to manage fish and wildlife resources at the tree farm in a
way consistent with the company's other objectives.
While management of the farm's deer and elk populations was the primary focus
of the pilot agreement, other projects were developed and implemented. For example,
Champion personnel, in conjunction with the department and the Puyallup Indian Tribe,
have been instrumental in working to restore coho salmon to Lake Kapowsin tributaries.
Under the new agreement, Champion also will participate in black bear and
cougar population management studies, and will work on goshawk, bat, neotropical bird
and amphibian monitoring and research projects. In addition, the company will
implement a riparian policy designed to provide wildlife corridors along waterways to
connect different habitat areas.
